PROCUREMENT MINISTER BRIAN Hayes has announced the introduction of the Framework for the Supply of Purchasing Cards to the Irish public sector to reduce paperwork and accelerate payment for businesses.
Hayes said the primary aim of these purchasing cards, to be supplied by Ulster Bank and Bank of Ireland, is to reduce the cost of processing the “significant number of low value invoices” that come in to state bodies on a daily basis.
This agreement will target up to €200 million of state expenditure which currently involves the processing of some half a million invoices with an average value of €350.
The minister said “the use of purchasing cards will eliminate the need to process individual low value invoices as they will be consolidated into a single monthly electronic statement, supported by detailed reports, leading to real and substantive administrative efficiencies”.
Through the use of purchasing cards in the public sector, receipt of payments by suppliers will be accelerated to less than four days. Hayes said this will be a major boost for the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector as improved cash flow is critical to their day-to-day operations.
The framework is available to the entire non-commercial public sector, including; Central Government Departments and Offices, non-commercial state agencies, local authorities, the health sector, the education sector, An Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces, the Irish Prison Service and the National Lottery Company.
The agreement will be in place for two years with an option to extend it for a further two years to a maximum of four years.
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